Chapter Two:
"Weasley?" He prodded her, as she lay against the tree, her face ghostly pale, eyes open but unseeing.
"Hey..." He whispered, knowing that she was too far away to hear him.
He's witnessed my breakdown...the only eyes that ever caught me...
The creatures inside her head made a shrieking sound that made her scream. It rang in her ears and by the looks of it, it had reached his as well.
"Weasley...?" He choked out as she had begun to cough up blood onto her hand. His eyes strayed to hers; fearful and dark. His own were full of confusion.
Suddenly he did something stupid. He scooped her up in his arms, letting her head hit his arm as he held her under the back on her knees and walked toward the castle. He grimaced every time her hair tickled his hips, he was afraid he'd drop her. Something in his mind was telling him that this was what he needed to do...for it would produce something greater ahead.
He didn't know what to tell the nurse, but she asked him to stay with Ginny, and he nodded as she swept from the room. He leaned back in the chair by her bed and stared at this girl. Pale skin, accompanied by freckles and red flaming hair. She wasn't such a bother to him, as much as he thought she would be.
"What's happened to you? You seem much more out of control now. You don't care about the detentions you get..." It sounded funny, talking to her with her eyes shut tightly, like she was trying to block out everyone and everything.
"You'd be surprised how much I do care." said a raspy voice as he looked away. Ginny sat up, looking groggy at him. Her fingers immediately flew to her head. Now she gripped it with both hands and rocked back and forth slowly. It startled him, so much so that he sat forward and grabbed one of her hands and held it tightly.
"What's happening to you?"
"My head...they thrive around in my mind. They hurt me...make me do things."
He blinked, and tried desperately to make her words register in his mind. He didn't like the feeling that had settled itself so nicely in his stomach.
"What things?"
"Don't know..."
"Y-yes you do." He shook his head. Something irked him terribly about this girl. Something that he feared would be the worst thing that she could possibly go through. And now he was going down with her...he sat next to her. He witnessed this unusual breakdown. Now he was stuck.
"Monsters...creatures...hooded men." Draco sat up so straight that he dragged her up slightly with him. She looked at him, still so afraid.
Death Eaters in her mind? She frowned, seeming to read his thoughts and expression.
"Not Death Eater...I don't-I don't know what they are." For the first time in years, he saw her lips curve upward.
"Did I frighten you?"
"No..."
"Liar."
"Well, yes...if you must know. I didn't know what to do."
"Apparently you did, if you brought me here. I'm sorry Draco."
"What did you say?"
"Draco..."
"It sounds pretty coming from you." He watched as her cheeks steadily grew pink, and she looked away. When she stared back at him, he felt his stomach twist in an odd way. Her large brown eyes filled with a new emotion, as she reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. And she spoke the phrase that he had never heard directed toward him. It made him smile lightly.
"You saved my life."